The 5th Avenue Theatre

5th Avenue is #1

The historic 5th Avenue Theatre is Seattle's flagship ornate performance hall; in France it would indeed be called a 'palais'. Modeled after the dome of Beijing's Forbidden City and built in 1926, the 5th Avenue is a mad swirl of intricate Asian carvings, warm red tones, and happy golden touches.

As host to the city's more popular, mainstream musicals, the 5th Avenue Theatre sometimes gets bad press about the bland, mass mediocrity of the shows like Hairspray, Shrek, or The Wedding Singer. But aren't these shows that people want to see? And take their kids on a Sunday afternoon? Yes, the 5th Avenue Theatre is a little kitchy, and dated, and touristy, but for an opulent theatre experience, it is the best that Seattle has to offer. The lobbies are not quite big enough for the intermission crowds, and you will find yourself bumping elbows and drinking wine out of plastic glasses, another big complaint about the 5th Avenue from Seattle theatre fans. I have news for you plastic-cup whiners, though: they do it the same way in Paris, at the Palais Garnier and the Opera Bastille, which makes all the pretentious Seattle complainers just that. The experience at the 5th Avenue is a more complete theatrical experience than the Paramount, and I'll take that with a plastic glass full of red any night of the week. This is the kind of theatre that inspires children to pursuing a life and career in the arts; if you are hoping for a lawyer out of yours then you might want to shy away. Otherwise, I'll see you at the show.